Pages

Sunday, November 17, 2013

1974 NHL Expansion Draft

The Background

Let me set the scene for you. It's June, 1972. The National Hockey League is a sixteen-team circuit, with new teams in Atlanta and on Long Island, New York having just finished participating in an expansion draft. The new teams will begin play in the fall of 1972. So too will the World Hockey Association, an upstart twelve-team league founded by a pair of mavericks whose primary objective is to disrupt the professional hockey business.

To get started the WHA needed two things: players and places to play. They would have to compete with the old-guard NHL for both. Players would come after promises of substantially more wealth. Finding places to play was more difficult. Half of the WHA member clubs were based in smaller cities that the NHL had no serious intention of ever expanding to: Cleveland, Edmonton, Houston, Ottawa, Quebec City and Winnipeg. In those cities they would only have to face competition for hockey fans from minor league and junior teams. The other half of the league took the NHL head-on in New York City, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and the Twin Cities of Minnesota. Not only were these teams vying for the same hockey fans as the NHL teams they were also vying for arenas to play in.

The WHA's New York Raiders (the name cheekily referencing the WHA's 'raiding' the NHL) were going to play at the planned arena in the 'burbs on Long Island. The NHL saw this coming and made their first pre-emptive strike against the WHA: they granted an expansion franchise to play on Long Island at the new arena. The New York Islanders as they became known signed a long-term lease at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum and the WHA was shut out. The Raiders had to settle for an exorbitantly expensive lease in Manhattan, at Madison Square Garden. The Raiders would also have to settle for whatever leftover dates they could get after the Rangers and NBA's Knicks had priority.

The New England Whalers signed a lease with the Boston Garden. As was the case with the Raiders in New York the Whalers had to compete for dates at the Garden with the NHL's Bruins and NBA's Celtics. When the Garden was unavailable they made do at the much smaller Boston Arena, home of Northeastern University's hockey team and former home of the Bruins.

By contrast the Chicago Cougars were unable to secure ice time at Chicago Stadium. They hoped to play at a new suburban arena but financing for the arena project wasn't secured in time for the season (the Cougars' owners, brothers Jordon and Walter Kaiser, were eventually unable to secure any financing at all and sold the team to players Ralph Backstrom, Dave Dryden and Pat Stapleton in 1974; the team folded in 1975, five years before the proposed arena in Rosemont was built and opened). They were forced to play games at the International Amphitheatre, originally built in the 1930s to host livestock exhibitions. Similarly the Philadelphia Blazers were forced to play games at the Philadelphia Civic Center, former home of the NBA's 76ers.

The Los Angeles Sharks had the luxury of a pair of venues being available: the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena and Long Beach Arena. The NHL's Kings were forced to build their own arena in 1967, The Forum, because the WHL's Los Angeles Blades held the lease at the Memorial Sports Arena.

St. Paul, Minnesota built its own new pro sports arena in the early '70s and the Minnesota Fighting Saints became the first tenant of the St. Paul Civic Center in downtown St. Paul.

Arenas were as much a driving force in the locations of the WHA's franchises as they were in the NHL's choices for expansion franchises. The 1972 expansion to Long Island and Atlanta was a deliberate effort to keep WHA teams out of the arenas and to limit the WHA's growth. The story was the same in the next round of expansion. Kansas City, Missouri was building a new arena for the NBA's Kansas City Kings and Washington, D.C. planned a new arena in downtown, tentatively called the Eisenhower Memorial Center. In order to keep the WHA out the NHL let Washington and Kansas City in. Expansion franchises were awarded to Baltimore Bullets owner Abe Pollin in Washington and an enormous group (more than 30 individuals) in Kansas City on June 8, 1972. The teams would begin play in 1974.

Pollin's downtown arena never materialized and he built his own arena instead, the Capital Centre, in suburban Largo, Maryland. He chose to name his new hockey team the Capitals, and hired outgoing Boston Bruins general manager Milt Schmidt as his GM in April, 1973.

The Kansas City group was originally going to name their club the Mohawks: 'MO' for Missouri and 'Hawks' as a reference to Jayhawkers, a nickname for Kansans. That was quashed by the Black Hawks' owners. There was only room enough in the NHL for one team nicknamed 'Hawks'. The owners hired St. Louis Blues GM Sid Abel, formerly of the Red Wings, in April, 1973 to take up the same post and begin building the team. The team was named 'Scouts' in June of 1973 after the statue in the city's Penn Valley Park.

The Rules

The rules of the 1974 expansion draft were almost exactly the same as they were in 1972. The existing clubs were allowed to protect 15 skaters and a pair of goaltenders, and the teams who lost goaltenders in the 1972 draft—Canadiens, Black Hawks, Bruins and Kings—were allowed to exempt themselves from losing a goalie in 1974. The Canadiens and Kings left themselves open to losing a goaltender again. The existing teams would lose three players each, including a maximum of one goaltender, and each selection would be followed by a fill-in player added to the team's protected list. The expansion clubs would chose a pair of goaltenders and 22 skaters each.

The amateur draft was held by conference call and earlier than normal (May 28th, 29th and 30th) in order to keep the WHA from knowing who chose who and giving the NHL a head start in contract negotiations with the players. The Capitals won a coin toss over the Scouts for the first selection in the amateur draft so first choice in the expansion draft two weeks later was given to the Scouts.

The draft began at 2:00 pm on June 12, in the Grand Salon of the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal.

The Protected Lists

Atlanta Flames

Boston Bruins

Buffalo Sabres

California Golden Seals

Goaltenders

Dan Bouchard

exempt

Gary Bromley

Gilles Meloche

Phil Myre

Rocky Farr

Gary Simmons

Skaters

Curt Bennett

Johnny Bucyk

Larry Carriere

Mike Christie

Dwight Bialowas

Wayne Cashman

Rick Dudley

Len Frig

Jerry Byers

Gary Doak

Norm Gratton

Stan Gilbertson

Rey Comeau

Darryl Edestrand

Bill Hajt

Hilliard Graves

Buster Harvey

Phil Esposito

Jerry Korab

Dave Hrechkosy

Ed Kea

Dave Forbes

Jim Lorentz

Spike Huston

Bob Leiter

Ken Hodge

Don Luce

Joey Johnston

Jean Lemieux

Don Marcotte

Rick Martin

Wayne King

Randy Manery

Terry O'Reilly

Gerry Meehan

Al MacAdam

Bob Murray

Bobby Orr

Brian Spencer

Ted McAneeley

Noel Price

Derek Sanderson

Gilbert Perreault

Jim Neilson

Pat Quinn

Bobby Schmautz

Craig Ramsay

Craig Patrick

Jacques Richard

Gregg Sheppard

Rene Robert

Bob Stewart

Larry Romanchych

Dallas Smith

Mike Robitaille

Stan Weir

John A. Stewart

Carol Vadnais

Jim Schoenfeld

Larry Wright

Chicago Black Hawks

Detroit Red Wings

Los Angeles Kings

Minnesota North Stars

Goaltenders

exempt

Doug Grant

Gary Edwards

Cesare Maniago

Jim Rutherford

Rogie Vachon

Fern Rivard

Skaters

Ivan Boldirev

Red Berenson

Bob Berry

Chris Ahrens

Germain Gagnon

Thommie Bergman

Gene Carr

Fred Barrett

Dennis Hull

Henry Boucha

Mike Corrigan

Jude Drouin

Doug Jarrett

Ron Busniuk

Butch Goring

Barry Gibbs

Cliff Koroll

Guy Charron

Terry Harper

Bill Goldsworthy

Keith Magnuson

Marcel Dionne

Sheldon Kannegiesser

Danny Grant

Chico Maki

Jean Hamel

Neil Komadoski

Dennis Hextall

John Marks

Bill Hogaboam

Don Kozak

Don Martineau

Pit Martin

Pierre Jarry

Dan Maloney

Lou Nanne

Stan Mikita

Nick Libett

Bob Murdoch

Dennis O'Brien

Jim Pappin

Jack Lynch

Mike Murphy

Murray Oliver

Dick Redmond

Hank Nowak

Frank St. Marseille

J.P. Parise

Phil Russell

Mickey Redmond

Vic Venasky

Tom Reid

Dale Tallon

Doug Roberts

Juha Widing

Fred Stanfield

Bill White

Bryan Watson

Tom Williams

Ron Wilson

Montreal Canadiens

New York Islanders

New York Rangers

Philadelphia Flyers

Goaltenders

Ken Dryden

Chico Resch

Eddie Giacomin

Bernie Parent

Wayne Thomas

Billy Smith

Gilles Villemure

Bobby Taylor

Skaters

Pierre Bouchard

Craig Cameron

Jerry Butler

Bill Barber

Yvan Cournoyer

Dave Fortier

Bill Fairbairn

Tom Bladon

Guy Lafleur

Billy Harris

Rod Gilbert

Bobby Clarke

Yvon Lambert

Gerry Hart

Ed Irvine

Bill Clement

Jacques Laperriere

Lorne Henning

Walt McKechnie

Gary Dornhoefer

Guy Lapointe

Ernie Hicke

Gilles Marotte

Andre Dupont

Chuck Lefley

Gary Howatt

Brad Park

Bob Kelly

Jacques Lemaire

Walt Ledingham

Jean Ratelle

Orest Kindrachuk

Pete Mahovlich

Billy MacMillan

Dale Rolf

Reggie Leach

Henri Richard

Bert Marshall

Larry Sacharuk

Ross Lonsberry

Jim Roberts

Bob Nystrom

Rod Seiling

Rick MacLeish

Larry Robinson

Jean Potvin

Pete Stemkowski

Don Saleski

Serge Savard

Doug Rombough

Walt Tkaczuk

Dave Schultz

Steve Shutt

Ralph Stewart

Steve Vickers

Ed Van Impe

Murray Wilson

Eddie Westfall

Bert Wilson

Jim Watson

Pittsburgh Penguins

St. Louis Blues

Toronto Maple Leafs

Vancouver Canucks

Goaltenders

Andy Brown

Eddie Johnston

Doug Favell

Bruce Bullock

Denis Herron

Wayne Stephenson

Dunc Wilson

Gary Smith

Skaters

Syl Apps

Don Awrey

Willie Brossart

Gregg Boddy

Chuck Arnason

Ace Bailey

Tim Ecclestone

Andre Boudrias

Dave Burrows

Bill Collins

Ron Ellis

David Dunn

Nelson Debenedet

Dave Gardner

George Ferguson

John Gould

Ab Demarco

Wayne Merrick

Bill Flett

Jocelyn Guevremont

Steve Durbano

Brian Ogilvie

Brian Glennie

Dennis Kearns

Vic Hadfield

Barclay Plager

Rick Kehoe

Bobby Lalonde

Bob “Battleship” Kelly

Bob Plager

Dave Keon

Don Lever

Ron Lalonde

Pierre Plante

Jim McKenny

Larry McIntyre

Bernie Lukowich

Greg Polis

Garry Monahan

Chris Oddleifson

Lowell MacDonald

Phil Roberto

Mike Pelyk

Gerry O'Flaherty

Bob Paradise

Glen Sather

Gary Sabourin

Tracy Pratt

Jean Pronovost

Floyd Thomson

Darryl Sittler

Barry Wilkins

Ron Schock

Garry Unger

Errol Thompson

Jim Wiley

Ron Stackhouse

Rik Wilson

Norm Ullman

Brian McSheffrey

The Draft

Ovr.

Player

Picked By

Picked From

Fill-In

Goaltenders

1

Michel Plasse

Kansas City Scouts

Montreal Canadiens

John Van Boxmeer

2

Ron Low

Washington Capitals

Toronto Maple Leafs

Lyle Moffatt

3

Peter McDuffe

Kansas City Scouts

New York Rangers

Ron Harris

4

Michel Belhumeur

Washington Capitals

Philadelphia Flyers

Joe Watson

Skaters

5

Simon Nolet

Kansas City Scouts

Philadelphia Flyers

Terry Crisp

6

Dave Kryskow

Washington Capitals

Chicago Black Hawks

J. P. Bordeleau

7

Butch Deadmarsh

Kansas City Scouts

Atlanta Flames

Keith McCreary

8

Yvon Labre

Washington Capitals

Pittsburgh Penguins

Jean-Guy Lagace

9

Brent Hughes

Kansas City Scouts

Detroit Red Wings

Claude Houde

10

Pete Laframboise

Washington Capitals

California Golden Seals

Morris Mott

11

Paul Terbenche

Kansas City Scouts

Buffalo Sabres

Larry Mickey

12

Bob Gryp

Washington Capitals

Boston Bruins

Al Simmons

13

Gary Coalter

Kansas City Scouts

California Golden Seals

Del Hall

14

Gord Smith

Washington Capitals

Los Angeles Kings

Bob Nevin

15

Gary Croteau

Kansas City Scouts

California Golden Seals

16

Steve Atkinson

Washington Capitals

Buffalo Sabres

Joe Roberts

17

Randy Rota

Kansas City Scouts

Los Angeles Kings

Larry Brown

18

Bruce Cowick

Washington Capitals

Philadelphia Flyers

19

Lynn Powis

Kansas City Scouts

Chicago Black Hawks

Duane Wylie

20

Denis Dupere

Washington Capitals

Toronto Maple Leafs

John Grisdale

21

John Wright

Kansas City Scouts

St. Louis Blues

Larry Giroux

22

Joe Lundrigan

Washington Capitals

Toronto Maple Leafs

23

Ted Snell

Kansas City Scouts

Pittsburgh Penguins

Duane Rupp

24

Randy Wyrozub

Washington Capitals

Buffalo Sabres

25

Chris Evans

Kansas City Scouts

Detroit Red Wings

Charlie Shaw

26

Mike Bloom

Washington Capitals

Boston Bruins

Andre Savard

27

Bryan Lefley

Kansas City Scouts

New York Islanders

Neil Nicholson

28

Gord Brooks

Washington Capitals

St. Louis Blues

Murray Kuntz

29

Robin Burns

Kansas City Scouts

Pittsburgh Penguins

30

Bob Collyard

Washington Capitals

St. Louis Blues

31

Tom Peluso

Kansas City Scouts

Chicago Black Hawks

32

Bill Mikkelson

Washington Capitals

New York Islanders

Vic Teal

33

Kerry Ketter

Kansas City Scouts

Atlanta Flames

Morris Stefaniw

34

Ron Anderson

Washington Capitals

Boston Bruins

35

Normand Dubé

Kansas City Scouts

Los Angeles Kings

36

Mike Lampman

Washington Capitals

Vancouver Canucks

Jim Mair

37

Richard Lemieux

Kansas City Scouts

Vancouver Canucks

Larry Gould

38

Lew Morrison

Washington Capitals

Atlanta Flames

39

Dave Hudson

Kansas City Scouts

New York Islanders

40

Steve West

Washington Capitals

Minnesota North Stars

Rod Norrish

41

Ken Murray

Kansas City Scouts

Detroit Red Wings

42

Larry Bolonchuk

Washington Capitals

Vancouver Canucks

43

Dennis Patterson

Kansas City Scouts

Minnesota North Stars

Blake Dunlop

44

Murray Anderson

Washington Capitals

Minnesota North Stars

45

Ed Gilbert

Kansas City Scouts

Montreal Canadiens

Claude Larose

46

Larry Fullan

Washington Capitals

Montreal Canadiens

47

Doug Horbul

Kansas City Scouts

New York Rangers

John Bednarski

48

Jack Egers

Washington Capitals

New York Rangers

Once again Canadiens GM Sam Pollock used the rules to manipulate the results in his favour with a masterful touch. He had used three goaltenders in the '73-'74 season: Michel Larocque, Wayne Thomas and Michel Plasse. Ken Dryden had taken the year off after contract negotiations broke down, but Dryden would be back for '74-'75. Pollock knew he could afford to lose another goalie and did so so that he could keep one of his other players. When Plasse was chosen by the Scouts first overall the Canadiens added John Van Boxmeer to their protected list. Neither the Scouts nor the Capitals were interested in Claude Larose, the only other notable player left off the protected list by the Canadiens.

The Scouts and Capitals were the unfortunate victims of the rise of the WHA and arguable over-expansion by the NHL: the talent pool was notably thin for this expansion draft. You may have noticed that a few notable players were left off the protected lists, such as Frank Mahovlich of the Canadiens and Dave Dryden of the Sabres. It was already known that these players were going to the WHA.

Several newspapers (Toronto Star and Montreal Gazette for example) commented that this draft was easily the worst expansion draft yet, and the $6,000,000 expansion fees exacted from the Capitals and Scouts was the most amount of money paid for the least amount of talent in any expansion draft to date at the time. Several players didn't play in another NHL game again after this draft, and many more played less than a season's worth. In fact Tom Peluso, chosen 31st overall by the Scouts from the Black Hawks and Steve West, chosen 40th overall by the Capitals from the North Stars, never played in the NHL at all.

If the rule on 1st year players changed, it was not in time for this draft. Note that future stars such as Dennis Potvin, Lanny McDonald, and Bob Gainey are not on the protected list; they had been amateur draft picks the year before. What I've never been able to figure out is why 1973 first rounders Blake Dunlop and Andre Savard show up as fill-ins.

Also, in his defense, Steve West, who had led the AHL in scoring the previous year, signed with the WHA almost immediately after the draft. So while he never played in the NHL, he did get in 100 or so games in the "other" league.

Thanks for publishing this, I'd never seen the protected lists before.

The only plausible reason I can think of for making Dunlop and Savard fill-ins was that the North Stars and Bruins respectively wanted to rid themselves of the contracts of some of their farmhands. E.g. instead of the North Stars using their second fill-in to protect Murray Anderson they put Dunlop on the list—despite the fact that Dunlop wouldn't have been eligible for selection anyway—so that one of the Scouts or Capitals were forced to take Anderson or another player like him. As far as I know there was nothing in the rules that said a first-year player couldn't be protected even though he didn't have to be. It begs the question why they wouldn't have protected a minor-leaguer they wanted to keep but perhaps it didn't really matter to them who they lost and they were just happy to have a player's salary off the books.

In retrospect the final paragraph does read a little unfair toward a player like West, who was talented enough to win the Sollenberger Trophy. It may be a minor league scoring title but it's still no small feat. It's a good example of how tough the Scouts and Capitals had it in 1974, having to compete not only against the incumbent NHL clubs (who in my mind stacked the deck against them) but against the WHA clubs too. Everybody was fighting to sign players and it was especially hard on an expansion team trying to establish themselves in the first place.

It makes me wonder what might have happened to the Scouts if the expansion process was a little more generous and they didn't have to deal with the WHA signing away players. Then again if not for the WHA the NHL might never have plunked a team down in Kansas City to begin with.